A FURIOUS patient walked out of a dental practice in disgust after he was refused treatment - unless he forked out £25 in advance!

Jeffrey Knott, 45, had suffered a weekend of agony with an abcess which had left him barely able to speak.

He had arrived at Christopher Lee's practice in Preston New Road, Blackburn, seeking emergency treatment.

But Mr Knott, who works for Blackburn Council, and his wife Joan were told by a receptionist that his registration had lapsed and he had to pay £25 up front before he could be seen by a dentist.

The couple, of Springfield Road, Great Harwood, left in fury because they only had £20 in cash.

Joan blasted: "I could not believe it. They said unless we handed over £25 they would not see him.

"I was disgusted. He has been going to that practice for years, but he will not be going back.

"What is this country coming to when people are turned away in agony? What about all the people who cannot afford £25?"

Jeffrey went straight to his GP in Great Harwood who gave him some antibiotics. He has vowed never to return to the practice and has also lodged a formal complaint about the incident. Simon Austin, one of three dentists at the practice, confirmed that Mr Knott was asked if he had the £25 on him.

He said: "We normally ask patients if they have the money with them. If they do not, they cannot be seen. We had a full book of patients who also needed to be seen.

"Mr Knott is no longer registered with the practice. He last received treatment here in 1993, but has ignored his check-up appointments since.

"If a patient is not registered we offer them an appointment for NHS treatment in a few days. If they want to be squeezed in during the day we would try and treat them privately for their toothache."

Nigel Robinson, chief officer of Blackburn and district Community Health Council, said: "If a person is not registered as a continuing care patient there is no obligation for the dentist to provide treatment.

"But if any patient is in pain they should be seen by a dentist not a receptionist. The subject of cash should be secondary."

Derek Cummins, deputy director of primary care for East Lancashire Health Authority, said this was a 'most unusual' case.

He said there were many people in East Lancashire who were probably unaware that their dental registration had lapsed. He said only 300,000 of the district's 500,000 population were registered with dentists.

"Dentists, for ethical reasons, will usually see patients who are not registered with them and don't normally turn patients away," he added.

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